Cleveland BioLabs, Inc (CBLI) has formally entered into a 50/50 joint venture, Incuron, with Bioprocess Capital Ventures, a Russian Federation venture capital fund, to develop the company's Curaxin compounds for cancer applications.

According to the terms of the agreement, CBLI will transfer rights to its pipeline of Curaxin anticancer molecules to the new joint venture, and Bioprocess Capital Ventures will contribute approximately US$ 18 million over three payments to support development of the compounds. The first payment of US$ 5.8 million is due upon formation of the Incuron entity. The ensuing payments are based upon achievement of predetermined development milestones. The first milestone payment of US$ 6.4 million shall be made upon approval to begin clinical trials on oncology patients with a selected lead Curaxin compound, or upon progression of a clinical programme of CBLC102. The second milestone payment shall be made upon completion of at least one phase I/II trial in cancer patients. CBLI will serve as a subcontractor to Incuron to support certain mechanistic studies and oversee clinical development.

Michael Fonstein, chief executive officer and president of Cleveland BioLabs, stated, "We are excited to conclude this deal and move our lead next generation Curaxin compounds into human trials. We believe this transaction reflects the outstanding potential of Curaxins as novel anti-cancer drugs with unique mechanism of action and projected broad ranging activity. The investment into the joint venture enables us to expedite development of this class of drugs towards efficacy testing in cancer patients."

Vladimir Tezov, general director of Bioprocess Capital Partners and manager of Bioprocess Capital Ventures, commented, "We are pleased to conclude this joint venture which provides a solid foundation for the rapid development of novel and highly promising anticancer compounds for both the Russian Federation and global markets."

Bioprocess Capital Ventures is a Russian Federation venture capital fund managed by the limited liability company, Bioprocess Capital Partners.

Cleveland BioLabs is a drug discovery and development company leveraging its proprietary discoveries around programmed cell death to develop treatments for cancer and protection of normal tissues from exposure to radiation and other stresses.